Secret safety-lock



TD STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM HOBBS, OF CABOTVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SECRET SAFETY-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 529, dated December 20, 1837.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-IoBs, of Cabotville in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Secret or Safety Lock for Trunks, Boxes, &c., and which improvement may also be applied to padlocks and others; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

Figure 1 in the accompanying drawing is a view of the interior of the lock, the inside cover, or box being removed for the purpose of showing the arrangement of its principal working parts. Fig. 2 is a front view, showing the outer plate; and Fig. 3 the hasp, which is to be fastened to the trunk, or box, by means of a single pin upon which it is capable of being removed laterally, this being necessary to the opening of the lock. In padlocks it is in like manner fastened to the front plate of the lock. In Fig. 1a is a lever working on a joint pin at b. Upon this same pin is affixed the cover of the key hole c shown by dotted lines on Fig. l as it is on the front of the plate, the lever and the key hole cover being firmly attached to the same joint pin, when the key hole is covered by e, the lever will necessarily assume the position shown by the dotted lines d.

c, is the opening in the front plate into which the staple of the hasp passes, this opening is made wide for the purpose of allowing a lateral motion to the staple for a reason to be presently given.

7 is a bolt sliding up and down between staples and borne up by the spring g, but capable of being forced down by the key which comes into contact with its projecting arm, L.

The staple of the hasp passes on to the tongue or projecting piece c' which forms a part of the front plate of the lock; it may pass also, on to a corresponding piece y' on the lever a which when down comes into contact with z' but when the lever is raised by sliding the cover c over the key hole, the hasp may be raised, as the staple can then be retracted from the hole in the front plate.

Operation: lWhen the lock is to be opened the key is inserted and turned so far as to press upon the arm h of the bolt f, which relieves the staple of the hasp from being checked by the upper end of the bolt, and` the hasp is then to be slid a small distance toward the end y' of the lever a; on turning the key further, so as to remove it, the bolt f will be relieved, and press against the lower edge of the staple. y taken out, and the cover c passed over the key hole which raises the lever a and allows The key is thenl the hasp to be slid farther so as to permit the staple to escape from the opening e. To allow the lever a. to rise when the bolt has caught upon the lower edge of the staple there is a notch in the upper part of it; but.

if the hasp is slipped a little too far upon j the lever can not be raised by means of the cover of the key hole and this will generally be done by any person attempting to open the lock, who is unacquainted with its operation. f

I claim as my invention- The manner of arrangingiand combining the lever, bolt and hasp as herein described, the saine being, as I believe,entirely new, and the same being applied to padlocks and others with slight modifications thereof.

WILLIAMl HOBBS.y Witnesses:

ALTEMAs ROGERS, AARON GRAVES; 

